Gangster for Capitalism

“The U.S. has routinely destroyed democracy throughout the globe
while its leaders spout words about spreading democracy.”

“I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country’s most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of  my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall  Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.. ..

“I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.

“During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.”

Major-General Smedley Butler, 1933.

One Response

  1. I posted a longer and somewhat different excerpt of a Smedley Butler pamphlet/speech on Scanlyze last week: ‘I was a Racketeer for Capitalism’ — Maj. General Smedley Butler, USMC (1935)

    Henry Edward Hardy
    Scanlyze

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.